Mindfulness


Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term mindfulness derives from the Pali word sati, a significant element of Buddhist traditions, and the practice is based on ānāpānasati, Chan, and Tibetan meditation techniques.
Since the 1990s, secular mindfulness has gained popularity in the West. Individuals who have contributed to the popularity of secular mindfulness in the modern Western context include Jon Kabat-Zinn and the "father of mindfulness" Thích Nhất Hạnh.
Clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness for helping people experiencing a variety of psychological conditions.
Clinical studies have documented both physical- and mental-health benefits of mindfulness in different patient categories as well as in healthy adults and children.
Critics have questioned both the commercialization and the over-marketing of mindfulness for health benefits—as well as emphasizing the need for more randomized controlled studies, for more methodological details in reported studies and for the use of larger sample sizes.

Definitions

Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation or sustained practice, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. In particular, it is a type of metacognitive skill involving cognitive processes such as attentional monitoring, attentional regulation, attentional focus reorientation, and subpersonal thought inhibition. Mindful awareness can be oriented towards both internal phenomena, such as thoughts and emotions, and external phenomena, such as speech or other volitional motor actions.

Psychology

A.M. Hayes and G. Feldman have highlighted that mindfulness can be seen as a strategy that stands in contrast to a strategy of avoidance of emotion on the one hand and to the strategy of emotional over-engagement on the other hand. Mindfulness can also be viewed as a means to develop self-knowledge and wisdom.

Trait, state and practice

According to Brown, Ryan, and Creswell, definitions of mindfulness are typically selectively interpreted based on who is studying it and how it is applied. Some have viewed mindfulness as a mental state, while others have viewed it as a set of skills and techniques. A distinction can also be made between the state of mindfulness and the trait of mindfulness.
According to David S. Black, whereas "mindfulness" originally was associated with esoteric beliefs and religion, and "a capacity attainable only by certain people", scientific researchers have translated the term into measurable terms, providing a valid operational definition of mindfulness. Black mentions three possible domains:
  1. A trait, a dispositional characteristic, a person's tendency to more frequently enter into and more easily abide in mindful states;
  2. A state, an outcome, being in a state of present-moment awareness;
  3. A practice.

    Trait-like constructs

According to Brown, mindfulness is:
Several mindfulness measures have been developed which are based on self-reporting of trait-like constructs:
  • Mindful Attention Awareness Scale
  • Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory
  • Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills
  • Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale
  • Mindfulness Questionnaire
  • Revised Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale
  • Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale

    State-like phenomenon

According to Bishop, et alia, mindfulness is, "A kind of nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is."
  • The Toronto Mindfulness Scale measures mindfulness as a state-like phenomenon, that is evoked and maintained by regular practice.
  • The State Mindfulness Scale is a 21-item survey with an overall state mindfulness scale, and 2 sub-scales.

    Mindfulness-practice

Mindfulness as a practice is described as:
  • "a way of paying attention that originated in Eastern meditation practices"
  • "Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally"
  • "Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis"
According to Steven F. Hick, mindfulness practice involves both formal and informal meditation practices, and nonmeditation-based exercises. Formal mindfulness, or meditation, is the practice of sustaining attention on body, breath or sensations, or whatever arises in each moment. Informal mindfulness is the application of mindful attention in everyday life. Nonmeditation-based exercises are specifically used in dialectical behavior therapy and in acceptance and commitment therapy.

Buddhism

Secular mindfulness is derived from Buddhist meditation techniques, and translates the terms sati and smriti.

Sati and smṛti

The Buddhist term translated into English as "mindfulness" originates in the Pali term sati and in its Sanskrit counterpart smṛti. It is often translated as "bare attention", but in the Buddhist tradition it has a broader meaning and application, and the meaning of these terms has been the topic of extensive debate and discussion.
According to Bryan Levman, "the word sati incorporates the meaning of 'memory' and 'remembrance' in much of its usage in both the suttas and the commentary, and... without the memory component, the notion of mindfulness cannot be properly understood or applied, as mindfulness requires memory for its effectiveness".
According to Robert Sharf, smṛti originally meant "to remember", "to recollect", "to bear in mind", as in the Vedic tradition of remembering the sacred texts. The term sati also means "to remember". In the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta the term sati means to remember the dharmas, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen. Sharf refers to the Milindapañha, which said that the arising of sati calls to mind the wholesome dhammas such as the four foundations of mindfulness, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the noble eightfold path, and the attainment of insight. According to Rupert Gethin,
Sharf further notes that this has little to do with "bare attention", the popular contemporary interpretation of sati, "since it entails, among other things, the proper discrimination of the moral valence of phenomena as they arise."
Georges Dreyfus has also expressed unease with the definition of mindfulness as "bare attention" or "nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness", stressing that mindfulness in a Buddhist context also means "remembering", which indicates that the function of mindfulness also includes the retention of information. Robert H. Sharf notes that Buddhist practice is aimed at the attainment of "correct view", not just "bare attention". Jay L. Garfield, quoting Shantideva and other sources, stresses that mindfulness is constituted by the union of two functions, calling to mind and vigilantly retaining in mind. He demonstrates that there is a direct connection between the practice of mindfulness and the cultivation of moralityat least in the context of Buddhism, from which modern interpretations of mindfulness are stemming.

Translation

The Pali-language scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids first translated sati in 1881 as English mindfulness in sammā-sati "Right Mindfulness; the active, watchful mind". Noting that Daniel John Gogerly initially rendered sammā-sati as "correct meditation", Davids said:

Alternative translations

says that the translation of sati and smṛti as mindfulness is confusing. A number of Buddhist scholars have started trying to establish "retention" as the preferred alternative. Bhikkhu Bodhi also describes the meaning of sati as "memory". The terms sati/''smṛti'' have been translated as:
  • Attention
  • Awareness
  • Concentrated attention
  • Inspection
  • Mindful attention
  • Mindfulness
  • Recollecting mindfulness
  • Recollection
  • Reflective awareness
  • Remindfulness
  • Retention
  • Self-recollection

    Memory

The Pali word sati, which is commonly translated as mindfulness, also carries the connotation of memory. It is described in the early Buddhist texts not only as awareness of sense perceptions but also as recollection of the Buddha's teachings and past events:
According to American Buddhist monk Ven Bhante Vimalaramsi's book A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation, the term mindfulness is often interpreted differently than what was originally formulated by the Buddha. In the context of Buddhism, he offers the following definition:
In Thich Nhat Hanh's lineage, mindfulness is closely intertwined with the concept of interbeing, the notion that all things are interconnected. This school of thought emphasizes awareness of the present moment and ethical living, reflecting the interconnected nature of existence.

Definitions arising in modern teaching of meditation

Since the 1970s, most books on meditation use definitions of mindfulness similar to Jon Kabat-Zinn's definition as "present moment awareness". However, recently a number of teachers of meditation have proposed quite different definitions of mindfulness. Shinzen Young says a person is mindful when they have mindful awareness, and defines that to be when "concentration power, sensory clarity, and equanimity working together." John Yates defines mindfulness to be "the optimal interaction between attention and peripheral awareness", where he distinguishes attention and peripheral awareness as two distinct modes in which one may be conscious of things. Thích Nhất Hạnh defined mindfulness as "the energy that sheds light on all things and all activities, producing the power of concentration, bringing forth deep insight and awakening."